America (LP)

Dan Deacon

Amoeba Review

Dan Deacon’s America starts with a buzzsaw synth as if to announce the serrated listening experience that is Dan Deacon. Both sugary and over-the-top, Deacon’s electronic constructions are exhaustive marvels of sound, looping hyperspeed synthesizer riffs into infinity. When vocals are added to the mix, the results can be rewarding pop songs, as in the muscular “Lots,” whose aggressive beats and distorted vocals are softened by a swooning choral pool in the background. “Crash Jam” similarly goes for the jugular with a straight-ahead beat and propulsive vocal, like a reworking of Kraftwerk’s “Autobahn.” This is not to say America doesn’t have its sweet moments; the aptly titled rococo “Prettyboy” includes synthesized oboes and strings that suggest automated romance. Though still a fan of excess — a four-part “USA” suite, complete with vibraphone breakdowns, fattens America’s back end, no pun intended — Deacon’s ability to step it down a notch from his previous work and his fondness for orchestral flourishes, especially those celestial harmonies lining the vocal tracks, makes America a more mature and ultimately more gratifying experience than anything Deacon has done before.